Age Group

Preschool
Kindergarten

Supplies

acorns, hula hoops, CD and music (optional)

Description

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:  
1) Listen and follow directions in a group game.
2) Practice gross motor skills of walking, running, and gathering acorns.
3) Practice math skills by counting acorns.

This game can be played outdoors, or indoors in a large space.  Before the game, talk about how in the fall squirrels are busy gathering and hiding nuts for the winter.   Tell the children they will play a game where they are pretending to be squirrels gathering acorns for the winter. 

Place hula hoops all around your space and assign 1 child to each hoop (their "tree").  Scatter a bunch of real acorns all around the ground.

Explain how squirrels can only carry ONE acorn at a time back to their tree.  Play some music.  Have children pretend to be squirrels gathering nuts - have them crawl around (if they run, they could slip on the acorns).   Tell them they have to get one acorn at a time and bring it back to their tree.  When the music stops, the “squirrels” go “home” back to their trees (hula hoops).

Practice math skills by having the children count out how many acorns they were able to collect.  Play as long as time and interest allows.

Share this idea